The drivers of collaboration Working in partnership across local government Executive summary Delivering an effective response to changes in leadership can create the coronavirus means collaboration between conditions for closer joint working. Even in county and district councils is more areas where relationships are good, they important than ever. require continuing time and attention. This was the key message in an article in 2. Formal structures. Formal structures the Local Government Chronicle written by such as leaders’ groups, joint committees, the chairs of the County Councils’ Network growth boards, collaboration agreements (CCN) and District Councils’ Network (DCN) in and district deals are important in March 2020. Councillors John Fuller and David providing a robust framework for Williams wrote: “One thing is for sure: we stand collaboration and collective decision- the best possible chance of success and making. It is also important to create then recovery by working together during this the space and opportunities for informal period of national emergency.” meetings and real discussion. In this report, which was commissioned well 3. Joint posts and double hatting. Joint before the first outbreak of coronavirus, we posts and more extensive joint officer have set out the results of our research into arrangements deliver benefits for the the factors which drive collaboration between councils directly involved and wider district and county councils. district/county relationships. Members with roles in both types of council can Our evidence is drawn from a combination of also bring benefits to wider collaboration. attributable and non-attributable interviews in 12 areas with county and district councils. 4. One size does not always fit all. County- We have also benefited significantly from the wide collaboration is an important part support of the LGA’s People and Places Board of leveraging economies of scale across and contributions from DCN and CCN. place. It can help avoid unnecessary duplication and support effective and efficient service delivery. There is also Seven drivers value in exploring whether more granular of collaboration partnerships at project, district, or groups of district level can leverage opportunities Drawing on our research we identified seven unique to certain parts of a county, such drivers of collaboration between county and as where a particular business type has district councils. They are: clustered or where there is acute housing need. 1. People and trust. The importance of high levels of trust between political 5. A mobilising topic or initiative. Focusing and managerial leaders was raised by on outcomes for people, places and everybody we interviewed. In many communities is widely seen as the most places longstanding relationships powerful driver of collaboration. In underpin effective collaboration; in others, many places the pursuit of a particular challenge, such as economic and housing 2 The drivers of collaboration growth, the climate emergency or the leaders and chief executives are reflected future of high streets has proved to be a throughout organisations. powerful mobilising force. • Always make space and time for informal 6. A shared understanding of what is conversations. on the table. A shared understanding • Think about how to make the most of joint between leaders of what is and is not on member and officer roles between two the table for discussion is a prerequisite councils. for sustained collaboration, giving clearly defined boundaries. • Be clear about what forms of collaboration require a county-wide approach and 7. This is difficult. The historically which can be pursued in different ways in hierarchical nature of government in different parts of the county. England can place both counties and • Retain a remorseless focus on outcomes for districts in a particular mindset about how residents, places and communities. they relate to one another. This in turn creates barriers to collaboration from the • Maintain a shared understanding of what is perspective of both types of council. and is not on the table. We identified eight “top tips” to prompt • Remember that collaboration between councils to consider the extent to which they district and county councils is difficult, but are mobilising these drivers of collaboration the wellbeing of many people, places and in their area. They are: communities depend on it being successful. • Always pay attention to the quality of relationships and levels of trust. • Do not assume that good relations between Our case studies We developed five case studies of effective collaboration with a small set of key learning points from each. The case studies and learning points are summarised in the table below. Derbyshire: Non-structural reform Devon: The climate emergency Seeking maximum benefit from non-structural The county and district councils in Devon reform is a key priority for the county and have agreed a collaborative response district councils in Derbyshire. A joint to the climate emergency. This builds committee for economic prosperity, which from a foundation of good relationships also includes Derby City Council, provides the which has survived significant changes in formal vehicle for pursuing this initiative, but council leadership. The approach is not a informal conversations are widely recognised prescriptive one, enabling activity at both as being equally important. strategic and local levels. The drivers of collaboration 3 • Reduced resources can be a driver of • Agreeing a statement of intent gave a collaboration, but an approach which clear sense of direction for the work on the focuses primarily on securing savings is climate emergency. unlikely to succeed. • A framework which enabled action at • A joint response to an emergency can different geographical levels enabled the help to reinforce and embed collaborative councils in Devon to mobilise strategic and working. local delivery capacity while eliminating • It is inevitable that priorities will vary across duplication. a county area: collaborative arrangements • Being alert to resident awareness, interest must allow for that. and expectations was an important driver of this collaboration. Kent: Planning and infrastructure Suffolk: Inclusive economic growth Kent is a large county with a very diverse The Suffolk Public Sector Leaders geography and 12 city, district and (SPSL) group has created conditions borough councils. There are major growth for collaboration between the councils opportunities in the county including on a range of topics including youth housing development in Canterbury. There unemployment, county lines and inclusive is well developed collaboration between the growth. Key to the success of the group, councils in Kent on housing, planning and however, are good relationships and high infrastructure at a county-wide level and levels of trust between the political and involving clusters of districts such as East managerial leaders in the county. County Kent, which includes Canterbury. and district leaders see the arrangements in Suffolk as a partnership of equals. • Collaboration between a county and • It is possible to create the conditions for clusters of districts can add real value effective collaboration following a difficult in a large, diverse county with many city, period using a combination of appropriate borough and district councils. structures, such as the SPSL, attention • Getting the right working groups in place to relationships and trust and a focus on to support collaboration on a topic such as outcomes for local people. housing, planning and infrastructures is very • Engagement of other partners, such as important. police and health, is an important part of • It is possible to pursue a shared vision for a the process. large county while respecting the roles and responsibilities of individual councils. Joint posts and officer structures There are examples of joint senior posts between a county and a district council and in one case a joint officer structure. These are viewed as bringing wider benefits to the relations across the areas concerned, as well as to the pairs of councils involved. • Joint posts can deliver benefits to the wider local government system in an area as well as to the pair of councils concerned. • Constructive challenge is an important feature of effective collaboration. 4 The drivers of collaboration Contents Introduction 6 The drivers of cross-tier collaboration 7 Conclusions and reflections 12 Case studies Derbyshire: Vision Derbyshire – non-structural reform 14 Devon: The climate emergency 16 Kent: Planning and infrastructure 18 Suffolk: Inclusive growth 20 Joint posts and officer structures 23 Appendix: Methodology 24 The drivers of collaboration 5 Introduction The final stages of research for this Our evidence is drawn from a combination assignment coincided with the introduction of attributable and non-attributable interviews of stringent social distancing measures with council leaders, chief executives in to tackle coronavirus. Writing in Local 12 of the 26 areas in England with county Government Chronicle in late March and district councils.1 We have drawn on councillors John Fuller and David Williams, the attributable interviews to develop case chairs of the DCN and CCN respectively, studies of collaboration in four areas: called on county and district councils to work Derbyshire, Devon, Kent and Suffolk. We together, more closely than ever before at a have also described the contribution of time